Crate&Barrel

My apartment was burglarized on the same day that I was visited by this store’s Crate & Barrel contractor. I arrived home, saw what happened, and immediately called the police, then called Crate & Barrel to report the incident. At the very least, I felt Crate & Barrel should investigate, check the contractor’s criminal record, something. I would have liked to know what steps they took, but they never called me back. To be clear, the police and the landlord both confirmed that my building in the West Village has *never* had a reported break-​in before. The method of the break in suggests that someone had inside knowledge of my apartment.
My major problems with Crate & Barrel are (1) they sent an unqualified, probably unlicensed, possibly criminal contractor to my home, and (2) they completely ignored my attempts to contact them about it. In the end, they did not even repair my table.
First of all, the contractor called me about 2 weeks before the appointment, said he would call before arriving, but showed up on the morning of the appointment without calling in advance. He entered without introducing himself by name. I asked him why he did not call first, as he said he would, and he just shrugged. He barely spoke 3 words. His English was non-​existent, which made it impossible to discuss the repair. He had not tools or paint, only a camera. He took dozens of pictures of the quarter-​sized flaw in the paint on my table, many of which included probably included the walls and windows of my apartment. At no time did he present paperwork. He wore no uniform – neither Crate & Barrel nor Angel Luna Furnishing, Inc., which Crate & Barrel claims is his company (although I can find no record of it in with the Secretary of States of NY, NJ or CT).
The visit itself probably took less than 10 minutes, and consisted entirely of photography, no actual repair, which was a complete waste of my time. I left for work. When I returned, the burglary had occurred. I called the number for Crate & Barrel on my order confirmation. They directed me to the store. The store later directed me to Corporate. I left a message with them and no one ever called me back. Someone finally called me back weeks later; however, it was just the store’s repair services manager calling to let me know since the table was «impossible to repair» they would let me return it with a 50% restocking fee. I told them maybe their contractor could not repair it because he had no paint, tools, or repair skills for this type of job. She then told me that the paint needed to repair the table is not even available to the store. What??? She also told me that the contractor had noticed other damage, which is not true at all. If it was, why would he take 30 or 40 pictures and not take pictures of this «other damage?» Basically, Crate & Barrel’s repair option is a racket. They send you someone unqualified (probably criminal) to attempt a half-​baked repair, and then call the repair impossible.
For the record, based on the circumstances, his behavior, and my lack of confidence in Crate & Barrel’s service/​repair process, I am convinced that this contractor was involved in this burglary. I have worked with contractors and employees from PC Richards and a plumbing company in the past 6 months. They both phoned in advance, wore uniforms, brought tools, were highly professional, and spoke English.
This has taught me to be careful about opening my home to contractors. It is clear to me that Crate & Barrel does not care about their customers once their money is spent, but I would at least think they would do their best to keep them from harm. If anyone has ever had a similar experience working with a Crate & Barrel contractor, please feel free to message me.

The layout out here is very nice, I’ll give them that, especially for being in the city. However, maybe it’s all the tourists or just a popular spot, the staff here are always busy with someone else. So if you are swinging by to pick something up quick or just have a question about tables or chairs, etc, you’ll be waiting awhile.

I agree with some reviewer comments about their shipping and distribution channel. I recently ordered a wine cabinet online and the website said they had one in stock at the Soho store for pick-​up. So I placed the order, got the confirmation, and decided to go pick it up the next day. On the next day, I received an e-​mail, literally while I was in the store, that only parts of the order was available. The store manager apologized for the confusion and explained that the rest of the parts will be backordered for at least a month. As you well know, that usually means three months out. Overall, the store manager was very nice about it but I think they need to improve their inventory status and communication channels. It really got my hopes up that I can get it before Thanksgiving so I can start hosting dinner parties.

I like this Soho location, it’s huge. Some of their products are overpriced. There’s items at the store that seem really comfortable while you’re testing it out for a bit, like their «Lounge» sofa. However, after reading reviews, as much as I love lounging on it, I could never allow myself to buy it after all the issues customers have had with it, i.e. feathers, sagging. It’s kinda expensive for something that releases feathers on a daily basis. I still love sitting on it at the store, but I could never buy it for my home, even if it didn’t have all those issues. Its too casual.
We did buy the Tate bed after coming and checking it out at the store a couple of times. I wasn’t 100% sure on the quality, but at the time, I really needed a new bed and L really liked it. I think, it’s made in the U.S. and there’s always these quality assurances made in the USA. Well I don’t know if that’s necessarily true. The slats on the Tate bed have been a major pain from day one. The bed had great reviews and it still does, except for this one flaw. I purchased it about 4 years ago, even after enforcing it a bit, it still creaks. Not as much as before, but enough to be quite annoying. I think we need to tighten it up or something… For $ 1600, it’s overpriced. I should’ve stuck with my gut and bought my bed elsewhere. C&B is okay for temporary, but for me, I just don’t think it’s something I’d want to keep long-​term.
Shipping was quick and the delivery guys put it together without any issues.

This review is specifically for the shipping and distribution experience in NYC /​northern New Jersey, not for the employees of the NYC stores themselves. The employees are great, well-​meaning, and trying their best to help, but something is going very, very wrong in the New York area .
Twice in the last 3 months, I’ve had execrable experiences trying to get items delivered — 5-​week delays to receive small household appliances from a warehouse less than 25 miles from my home («they’re really backed up; you’ll get it by next week. Ok, you’ll get it by the week after that, really, they’re just have a huge backlog right now… Yeah, I realize it’s been more than a month since you ordered that item, it’s in stock, they are just having trouble getting items out.»)
Even more disappointingly, C&B dispatched the *wrong* furniture to me twice («sorry, there’s a problem at the warehouse»), and I had to spend more than ten hours trying to get them to sort it out.
I wrote a letter to C&B HQ politely noting that there seem to be huge problems with their distribution arm in NYC. I figured someone would at least acknowledge the letter, but no.
I give up on Crate and Barrel. Good luck if you’re ordering online!

I don’t know if anyone in the organisation reads this, but thank you, Crate and Barrel, for keeping your new Houston Street branch up to the mark.
I admit, I greatly regret the closure of the 59 Street store, but it was a pleasure to find what I needed quickly in your downtown store, and the staff — especially the lovely Audrey — were super.
I’ll be back when next in town — it’s a date.

Yes, I most often come here to use the 2^nd floor restroom and sit on one of those overpriced couches.
The staff is usually very nice when I am buying something, aka the only time when they interact with you. The security guards always say «hi» when you you come in and are usually happy even on freezing days.
Whoever is working on the register will place your your large bag on hold in-​store sometimes to save you from carrying fragile water glasses all day long while you are running around Soho, which is extremely nice and appreciated.
They sell really cute kitchen and dish towels.
They also sell the infamous «Olivia Pope» wine glasses! haha Love the little kitchen things that you don’t really need but feel tempted to buy because you are in the store.
The prices are ok for everything but the furniture. Large store, lots of seating and nothing to really complain about it.

EDITED SEPTEMBER 25
I literally just joined Unilocal to review this place.
I gave it one star for about the six weeks that a series of warehouse screw ups led to us waiting and the other half of our couch never showing. Despite these issues and frustrations, the Crate and Barrel staff at this place never waivered in their patience and understanding (and I was quite pissed at various points). They did their best to accommodate us and I must say, I am glad we went through the store over online, becuase they really bent over backward to resolve the situation. Thus I am moving my review to 5 stars for the store, though I would give 0 stars to their warehouse system.

Beautiful space but I don’t think they know what they’re doing at this spot. I stood for 20 minutes clutching my purchases waiting to pay. After being continually ignored, I dropped my stuff and bought from West Elm a similar product. Thanks for reminding me why I only shop online.

Generally a good experience except one big problem. They said that they fixed the problem with feathers coming through the couch material.
Well they haven’t — every time we sit down little feathers jab you through the material.
I recommend staying away from their couches !

I really like Crate and Barrel’s in general, but this location in particular is awesome. First of all, it’s huge. It has a ton of stuff in stock. Second of all, it has the best customer service! Everyone is so helpful. If they don’t have an item in stock, they’ll even order it for you and have it shipped to you at no extra cost. Love how they mail out extra 15% off coupons every quarter or so as well! Hubby and I had a wedding registry there 4 years ago. We had one of our items damaged and we brought it in and they replaced it free of charge. Just amazing customer service which gives me a lot of confidence in purchasing items here.

Beautiful building, convenient location, helpful staff.
I got to the register and realized there was one more thing to pick up. Rather than having floor sales retrieve the item, we worked out for the cashier place everything on hold for behind the counter while I left the line and let the next person pay for their items. Good thing since the item was backstocked and had to be retrieved from a storage area.
It wasn’t too long of a wait which we passed munching samples of the various candy treats available for the Holidays. When we got back to the register area, we made a beeline for our previous cashier and items while another cashier tried to help ring up our item in hand. When was the last time you have two cashiers in Manhattan both trying to assist you at once?!

Absolutely love crate & barrel. I’ve been to several locations across the country and this one is t much different from the others. Clean, organized and full of awesome nick nacks for the Nate Berkus in all of us.
The thing that stood out about his store was Terrance’s awesome customer service. He was very pleasant and extremely helpful. Would return just because of that.

I actually really enjoy this Crate & Barrel. It’s perfect for your new apartment, new dorm, or just a housewarming gift for a friend. They honestly decorate it so nicely that the product advertising is off the hook.
The service is also very friendly and they are super helpful. This is certainly the classier version of Ikea — I love it!
Just one star off because things can get kinda pricey around here, but some things are about the same price as you would find at a dollar store. Glass cartons with a lid round you up to about $ 2, which is about the same as a dollar store. It’s super sealable too! Very sensible store, clean, and friendly. Would come again.

Love the stuff. .. Fear the prices!
But, if you come during a sale — then you are all set for your new furniture and furnishings. I waited ever-​so-​patiently for the Memorial Day sale to order my couch and chifforobe. The reward? Approximately $ 600 in savings! (15% off, plus free shipping). All those thousands of pennies count after having just closed on my new place.
Now.. .. if only the next 8 – 10 weeks fly by so that I can finally park my butt on my new couch!

I have a rather unhealthy addiction to this store. Their sales, their specials, their amazingly deep couches.
The service can be great (when you get someone, they are always busy) and I once got the help from someone to grab a rather long list of items that I was looking for (she was a saint).
Only thing to note: if you have an awards gift card, try and use the full amount outright, there’s this weird thing where if it’s only part of the award total — it means the remaining balance never gets claimed. I ended up getting a card in the mail to refund the difference.

I like Crate & Barrel because it gives me hope for the future, post grad, post job interview. This is the perfect place to come and think, ‘hmm, that’s a really unique patterned pillow, so $ 40 is definitely reasonable.”
It’s one of those places where people prove their job stability in terms of how long they are willing to sit/​lay/​cradle the couches and beds. That guy taking selfies on the leather sectional? He just got promoted and is here to celebrate. I enjoy furniture shopping partially for the people who come here to actually buy this furniture.

I really like Crate & Barrel. In fact, I spent a good chunk of change here post-​tax return last year when I redid the furniture in my apartment. They understand what may or may not fit in an NYC apartment. They overnighted fabric swatches to me (more than once), so I could make the best decision about what was going to work best in my apartment, and did a great job following up with me to find out what my decision was so they could get the custom order going and schedule delivery.
I can appreciate some of the other comments here about not being able to have anything to take home with you the day of purchase, but once you’re beyond buying furniture from IKEA or Mattress Liquidators, almost any furniture (whether you buy it in NYC or in Short Hills) is going to require some degree of customization and isn’t going to be available to be taken home on the spot. And, for those of us who don’t get the Crate & Barrel catalog, what better opportunity to shop the entire collection than to spend hours (and it is so easy to spend hours here) in a super-​spacious, natural-​light-​filled space in (almost) SoHo?
Staff here are wonderful — when they are not temp holiday staff. I recently had a bad experience with a cashier who was unwilling to remove stickers and gift package a purchase I had made. I think this is an anomaly. Everyone else I’ve encountered here has been witty, fun, helpful, and really takes the time to understand what you need.
Some of my favorite Crate & Barrel things:
1. Gunmetal bar stools. O.M.G. So sexy.
2. Leather cubes. Storage inside, seating on top, or flip over the seat and turn the darn thing into a serving tray/​table. $ 170 for essentially three pieces of furniture? Yes, please.
3. The «Chair-​and-​a-​half» — aka a loveseat with really skinny arms — which is sturdy and allows two people to sit side by side without feeling awkward.
4. ANYTHING in their glassware section. It’s so beautiful and beautifully displayed.
I love Crate & Barrel. I love this location. End of discussion.

I l-​o-​v-​e Crate & Barrel.
And this is my favorite location.
+ Always an abundance of staff working at any point during the day.
+ Clean, well organized & departments clearly defined.
+ Sales clearly marked via signs in red.
+ Easy to use wedding registration system (I totally speak from experience)
+ Easy returns (if that wedding gift didn’t work out too well…)
++ bonus points for the restroom on the 2^nd floor. Clean & always available… perfect pit stop when shopping in and around SoHo.

Clean, modern, fresh, affordable.
Can pretty much buy everything here for your home funishings.
Cleanest and best bathroom in soho.